Last Updated on December 20, 2022
For many people, Christmas is the best time of the year. Families get together, decorations are sparkly, and let’s not forget Santa and his gifts! You can make the festive season extra special this year by playing games with your loved ones. If this is your first year considering Christmas games or you are looking for new ideas, then this article is for you!
1. Marshmallow Munch
Suitable for: Adults.
For this game, you will need a packet of mini-marshmallows, hot chocolate and a few towels (this is going to get messy!). Before you begin, make sure that the hot chocolate is not dangerously warm because the goal of the game is speed and someone might get burned.
First, allow several of your friends or family to sit at a table. Give each person a cup of hot chocolate and a bowl of marshmallows. The one who finishes their serving in 60 seconds is the winner! Due to the hasty eating, this game carries a risk of choking. Please, do not allow children to play the Marshmallow Munch.
2. Candy Cane Drop
Suitable for: Adults.
Take two chairs, turn their backs towards each other and tie a pair of ropes between them. The result should resemble parallel washing lines. A person stands on each chair, holding several candy canes.
The goal is to make the candy canes hang on the ropes without falling off! This is more tricky than its sounds. The contestants must drop the candy canes from a height and the first person who manages to get one of these slippery sweets to stay on a line wins.
3. Balloon Burst
Suitable for: Adults.
If you are looking for another minute-to-win-it game, then look no further than this exciting activity. The game is simple enough but mesmerizing to onlookers and participants alike! Nope, you don’t have to prick a balloon with a toothpick. In this version, you must wear woolly winter gloves and pop ten balloons using only your hands.
4. Green and Red Jars
Suitable for: Kids and adults.
You will need green and red candies, a bowl, tweezers and two jars. Mix the candy thoroughly so that the two colors are well blended. You can decide how much time you want to give the player but keep it short enough to add pressure (go for a minute or 90 seconds).
The player uses the tweezer to move candy from the bowl and, depending on their color, must place them in the “red” or “green” jar. When their time is up, count the candy. The next person who wants to play can then take a turn. Once all the players are done, the one who transferred the most candy to the jars is the winner!
5. Snow Battle
Suitable for: Kids and adults.
Don’t worry, nobody is going to throw any snowballs. This indoor game is very popular at Christmas parties and things can get quite rowdy! To prepare for this activity, gather an empty fish bowl or another rounded plastic container, white ping pong balls and cotton balls.
Only one player gets the balls and this person sits at one end of the table. Others sit around the table (hand them the cotton balls). As the player attempts to throw or bounce a ball into the fishbowl, everyone else throws cotton balls to knock the ball out of the air. When a ping pong ball lands in the bowl, the player wins.
6. Pin The Nose on Rudolph
Suitable for: Kids and adults.
This is a fun and messy game! Before you begin, make sure that you have a bottle of Vaseline, several small red pompoms and enough cut-outs of Rudolph’s face so that every contestant has their own.
Stick all the Rudolph faces to the wall and add a little Vaseline to the nose area. The players must dip their own noses in the Vaseline and use their sticky snoots to pick up the pompom. The first player to successfully make the pompom stick to Rudolph’s face is the winner!
Remember, nobody is allowed to use their hands – not even when they put Vaseline on their noses. You can scoop the Vaseline into something more accessible – like a teaspoon – and place it on a table.
7. Ornament Race
Suitable for: Kids and adults.
To prepare for this game, make sure that you have a large room, several lightweight and spherical Christmas ornaments. Finally, you will also need several sheets of large, thick paper. Each player is given a sheet of paper and must stand at the starting line of the race.
They are only allowed to push their ornaments along using the paper. But here is the catch! They cannot touch the ornament with the paper or their hands. They must create a forceful wind with the sheet in order to move their item forward.
8. Mistletoes and Your Toes
Suitable for: Kids and adults.
This is another fun game that involves a horizontal rope. But instead of using chairs this time, you will need something lower to tie your rope to. You also just need a single line that is fixed at an appropriate level. Before you start, ensure that players can reach it with their feet while sitting on the floor.
When you are satisfied with the height, give each player a piece of mistletoe (prepared beforehand to include a hook). The goal of the game is to see which player can use their toes to be the first person to successfully hang mistletoe on the rope.
9. Decorate the Tree
Suitable for: Kids and adults.
You can use any size tree for this game. However, smaller ones are better because they make the game more challenging. You will also need several trees. This will allow several people to compete at the same time.
The players must stand in a line and face their own tree. Remember to place the trees a good distance away to avoid making the game too easy. The goal is to decorate the tree without going closer, meaning that players can only throw the decorations. The winner is the one who manages to make the most trinkets stick to their tree!
10. Toss the Wreath
Suitable for: Kids and adults.
Buy a couple of cheap Christmas wreaths. If you are exceptionally moved by the festive spirit, why not make your own? You will also need a pole about the height of your knee and fix that to the ground.
Players must throw the wreaths with the aim of landing as many rings as possible on the pole. You can also play an elimination game. Give each player six wreaths. To qualify for the next round, they must land at least two wreaths. Those who make it to Round 2 get five wreaths and must land two. For every round, take a wreath away until there is a winner!
11. Hula Winner
Suitable for: Kids and adults.
Since this game is all about presents, it will undoubtedly be a hit at your party! So, how does it work? Well, all you need are gift bags and hula hoops. The goal here is, of course, to score yourself a gift bag!
A player must roll the hula hoop towards a gift bag on the floor. If the hoop manages to land around the bag, the player gets to keep the gifts inside. To ensure that the game stays fair, only allow players to win one gift bag. People quickly get the knack of this game and it’s not unheard of for a single player to sweep most of the goodies!
12. Find the Santa
Suitable for: Kids and adults.
This is a good game for people with lots of patience and humor! To prepare for the game, gift wrap several boxes and hide a picture of Santa in one of them. Use a piece of tape to secure the picture so that it doesn’t make a noise when the player shakes the box. After all, that is the goal of the game – they have to find the Santa.
But of course, this game is not as simple as it sounds. A player must unwrap the gifts, sure. But they must also wear oven mitts. If they manage to open a present and it does not contain Santa, they have to open some more!
13. Secret Santa
Suitable for: Kids and adults.
Oh, what would Christmas be without this game? Everybody loves being a Secret Santa and also having one! This activity is also guaranteed to add a festive mood to your party.
Just make sure that the game stays enjoyable from the start. It begins when your guests or family must shop for someone and this can be stressful – especially when they don’t know the person very well. Instead of matching people up, ask your guests to buy a gift of a certain value or theme and to gift wrap it. The gifts are numbered and lots are pulled to distribute them.
14. Christmas Karaoke
Suitable for: Kids and adults.
Divide your friends into two groups – volunteers who want to participate in a singing contest and the rest are judges. Give the judges pen and paper so that they can grade each performance from 1 to 10 (10 being the best). The grand judge adds up the score and the person with the highest score wins.
Here’s another karaoke game. Play popular Christmas jingles – but only the tunes. Contestants must make up their own words to impress the judges.
15. Holiday Bake-Off
Suitable for: Kids and adults.
This one is for the foodies and the creative souls who express their talents in the kitchen! Heck, even raw bakers will love this game. This is a flexible activity that has countless possibilities. See which friend can bake the best-looking or best-tasting reindeer faces. Who can bake all the letters of “Merry Christmas?”
Remember to supervise kids in the kitchen! Baking is fun but hot pans and cookies can cause burn wounds.
16. Guess the Number
Suitable for: Kids and adults.
This is an old fundraiser favorite. Players must buy a ticket to get a chance to guess how many pieces of candy is inside of a glass jar. The person who guesses the number correctly (or the closest number) wins the jar. Since this is Christmas, nobody needs to purchase a ticket! Simply let them guess a number and the person with the closest estimation wins the prize.
If kids are playing this game, hand out smaller packets of sweets to those who didn’t win the jar. This will avoid disappointment – or at least make them feel a little bit better!